Overview
Julia is a 1977 American WWII drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann, from a screenplay by Alvin Sargent. It is based on a chapter from Lillian Hellman's 1973 book Pentimento about the author's relationship with a lifelong friend, Julia, who fought against the Nazis in the years prior to World War II. The film stars Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook, Rosemary Murphy, Maximilian Schell, and Meryl Streep in her film debut.
Julia was released theatrically on October 2, 1977 by 20th Century Fox. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $20.7 million against its $7 million budget. It received a leading 11 nominations at the 50th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won three awards: Best Supporting Actor (for Robards), Best Supporting Actress (for Redgrave) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
At the 35th Golden Globe Awards it received a leading seven nominations, including for the Best Motion Picture – Drama, with Fonda and Redgrave winning for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The film also received a leading ten nominations at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards and won four: Best Film, Best Actress (for Fonda), Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.
Plot
The young Lillian Hellman and her friend Julia, daughter of a wealthy family being brought up by her grandparents in the United States, enjoy a childhood together and a very close friendship in late adolescence. Later, while medical student Julia attends the University of Oxford and the University of Vienna and studies with such luminaries as Sigmund Freud, Lillian, a struggling writer, suffers through revisions of her play with her mentor and lover, famed author Dashiell Hammett, at a beach house.
Julia's university in Vienna is overrun by Nazi thugs, and she is severely injured trying to protect others. Lillian receives word of Julia's condition and rushes to Vienna to be with her. Julia is taken away for "treatment", and Lillian is unable to find her again since the hospital denies any knowledge of her being treated there. She remains in Europe to try to find Julia, but is unsuccessful.
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